SAN LUIS OBISPO — Research at Cal Poly has identified a path to recovery and success for commercial printers and other graphic communication service providers. 

Industry marketing leader, Steven Schnoll, and Cal Poly experts, will share this practical “how-to” approach in a workshop titled, “Grow Your Business with Vertical Niche Marketing.” The workshop will be held March 26-28 at the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly (GrCI) in San Luis Obispo, Calif. (www.grci.calpoly.edu).

First in a series, the workshop will focus on retail stores, travel and leisure companies, and nonprofit organizations. Limited to 20 participants, the instruction will be personalized, hands-on and interactive. Attendees will take away the structure for a business plan with the capability for immediate implementation.

“There is no reason why commercial printers and other graphic communication service providers cannot specialize to serve the printing needs of these three niche markets,” said Harvey Levenson, director of the GrCI. “They all rely on an enormous amount of printing, supported by non-print digital applications. Commercial printers and related service providers have the infrastructure and technology to serve these needs, but not necessarily the know-how. This workshop will fill that gap and show how to optimize un-used human and equipment capacity that these companies have.”

The workshop is designed to review cross-media options competing for attention. It then offers suggestions and ideas that business partners can offer enterprise marketers to lead them through the new digital media production options — Big Data, variable data, printing, QR codes, Near Field Communication, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Augmented Reality, Web design, mobile apps, digital asset management and more.

“Marketers are often uninformed or confused about what will be most appealing and relevant for their respective present and prospective target audiences,” Schnoll said. “The workshop will provide the skills and vertical marketplace insights to engage senior executives with meaningful suggestions and offer a wide variety of cross-media options to help win a customer’s confidence, acquire the business, and successfully partner with the customer with long term solutions.”

Participants will also learn how to introduce “new media” to their product offerings for the three vertical niche markets addressed. “These niche markets are huge, with thousands of companies serving local, regional and national audiences. Participants will learn how to enter these markets as service providers,” Levenson said.

Schnoll noted, “Marketers are seeking partners that can analyze their specific challenges and assist in formulating an action plan to achieve results. Research has shown that the majority of end-users want to work with service providers that understand their specific business needs. This workshop will address those needs.”

“Grow Your Business with Vertical Niche Marketing” is designed for graphic communication service providers, including printers, publishers, packaging companies, advertising agencies, marketing firms, graphic designers, website developers, Internet publishers and social media users.

For information on attending this limited-enrollment workshop, visit:

http://grci.calpoly.edu/workshops/vertical_marketing_workshop_0314.html